Iran, Russia Reject European Bid to Revive UNSC Sanctions
Tehran, The Gulf Observer: Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, in a telephone conversation, underscored that the European troika — Britain, France, and Germany — lack the authority to seek the reinstatement of United Nations Security Council (UNSC) sanctions against Iran.
The two top diplomats discussed the trio’s renewed efforts to trigger the reimposition of sanctions ahead of the scheduled expiration of UNSC Resolution 2231. Adopted in 2015, the resolution endorsed the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) and lifted international sanctions on Iran in exchange for curbs on its nuclear program.
Araghchi and Lavrov argued that the European states’ failure to fulfill their JCPOA obligations, along with their alignment with U.S. measures against Iran’s peaceful nuclear facilities in June, has deprived them of any legal or political grounds to invoke the deal’s “snapback” mechanism.
The European countries have accused Iran of diverting its nuclear activities toward military objectives and are pushing for the mechanism’s activation, which would automatically restore international sanctions prior to the resolution’s expiration in October.
Both Tehran and Moscow dismissed the claims, stressing that attempts to reimpose sanctions are illegitimate and undermine the integrity of the JCPOA and international commitments.
